MILESTONES

Family moved to Los Angeles when Laurie was six; she was placed in a Los Angeles children's home by her parents to keep her asthmatic sister company

:

Acted in school plays during high school

1949:

Signed contract with Univeral-International at age 17

1950:

Feature acting debut, "Louisa"; played Ronald Reagan's daughter

1951:

First of four films in which she played opposite Tony Curtis, "The Prince Who Was a Thief"

1955:

TV acting debut on "Best of Broadway" series

1955:

Broke studio contract; abandoned Hollywood for New York

:

Starred in New York stage productions (including "Rosemary" and "The Alligators", two one-act plays by Molly Kazan) and on live TV

1957:

Moved back to Hollywood; returned to acting in films with "Until They Sail"

1958:

Earned first Emmy nomination for performance in "The Deaf Heart" (CBS)

1959:

Cast as an alcoholic opposite Cliff Robertson in "The Days of Wine and Roses"

1961:

Earned Best Actress Oscar nomination for performance as Fast Eddie Felsen's girlfriend in "The Hustler"; last film for 15 years

1967:

Starred as Laura on Broadway in the 20th anniversary production of "The Glass Menagerie"

1967:

Took hiatus from acting; moved to Woodstock, New York and baked, worked on pottery, paintings and sculptures

1973:

Returned to stage in John Guare's "Marco Polo Sings a Solo"

1976:

Returned to films in "Carrie", playing the title character's devoutly religious mother; received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination

1979:

Cast as a widow who hires a mentally challenged handyman (Mel Gibson) in "Tim"

1981:

Offered strong turn as Magda Goebbels in "The Bunker" (CBS); received third Emmy nomination

1983:

Garnered fourth Emmy nomination for supporting role of Anne Mueller in "The Thorn Birds" (ABC)

1984:

Received fifth career Emmy nomination for guest appearance on the NBC drama "St. Elsewhere"

1985:

Portrayed Auntie Em in the sequel "Return to Oz"

1986:

Garnered third Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for "Children of a Lesser God"

1986:

Co-starred with James Garner and James Woods in the acclaimed CBS TV-movie "Promise"; won Emmy award for role

:

Toured in one-woman stage show, "The Last Flapper" by William Luce, portraying Zelda Fitzgerald (date approximate)

1990:

Starred as Catherine Martell in David Lynch's eerie, quirky drama series "Twin Peaks" (ABC); received two Emmy nominations for work in show; for the 1989-1990 season as Best Actress in a Drama Series and as Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the 1990-1991 season

1991:

Cast in featured role in "Other People's Money"

1993:

Co-starred in Off-Broadway production of Larry Kramer's "The Destiny of Me"

1994:

Had regular role on the short-lived CBS series "Traps"

1996:

Reteamed with Sissy Spacek, this time playing sisters in "The Grass Harp"

1998:

Had featured role in the horror film "The Faculty"

1999:

Picked up ninth career Emmy nod for guest appearance in an episode of the NBC sitcom "Frasier"

2000:

Co-starred in the based-on-fact Showtime drama "Possessed"

2004:

Starred in the black comedy "Eulogy" which follows three generations of a family, who come together for the funeral of the patriarch